The University Mental Health Charter

The University Mental Health Charter FAQs

What is a Charter?

In this context, a Charter is a voluntary award and quality improvement scheme which will recognise universities with exceptional approaches to promote and support the mental health and wellbeing of students and the university community.

Which organisations are involved in the University Mental Health Charter?

To develop the Charter, Student Minds will lead a formative partnership of the UPP Foundation, Office for Students (OfS), National Union of Students (NUS) and Universities UK. This partnership supports the national view, and we will be inviting wider collaboration. Research partners include the University of Derby and King’s College London. We welcome contact from additional organisations interested in supporting the programme (contact charter@studentminds.org.uk). A wider advisory group will be announced in Autumn 2018.

Why are Student Minds leading the development of this Charter now?

There has been great political, public and professional concern in recent years about student mental health. The mental wellbeing reported by university students is among the lowest across the population and the sector has seen a dramatic rise in help-seeking, with some institutions reporting that one in four of their students are either being seen or are waiting to be seen by the university counselling service (IPPR, 2017). Whilst further research is required, experts have connected this to a range of academic, social and financial pressures. Mental health is a critical factor in student and staff retention and success. Universities, as a community setting, present an opportunity to change people's health outcomes for life. As well as responding to illness, we need to promote and improve the mental health and wellbeing of all members of the university community.

Student Minds have been working to improve the mental health and wellbeing of students and university communities since 2008. Since our beginnings as a charity focused on student-led projects, we’ve broadened our focus into wider areas of mental health and wellbeing and now work with over 120 universities across the UK, supported by our national research, policy and campaigning work. We have undertaken a range ofresearch projects to support the role of various groups: student accommodation, university sport, academics, schools and graduate employers.

In 2017, Student Minds took part in the Universities UK led programme to develop a strategic framework, ‘Step Change’, aiming to encourage more universities to take a 'whole-university approach' to student wellbeing. With the support of Student Minds and UUK, a pilot implementation programme (funded by The OFS) is now reviewing this framework and the process of developing a university-wide mental health strategy at Cardiff, York and UWE.

We are much encouraged by the progress being made on this issue over the last decade, and the Charter will be an important tool to support cultural change in universities for students, university staff and their local communities.

What will be the aims and areas of focus of the University Mental Health Charter?

An extensive engagement process with students, university colleagues and the programme advisory board will shape the Charter’s Focus.

Overall, we will stretch and reward the university sector in the area of mental health. We are aiming towards outstanding quality care and support of students and staff in Higher Education in the UK. The Charter will recognise and reward those institutions that demonstrate good practice, make student and staff mental health a university- wide priority and deliver improved student mental health and wellbeing outcomes.

The Charter will have the most value by being embedded within the wider change programme. As such we will invite universities to achieve recognition for high standards of practice in areas established in University UK’s Step Change, such as leadership, early intervention and prevention, data collection and high quality services, and will stretch institutions in their approach to co-producing with students and members of the university community and reducing inequality by ensuring the needs of all students, including BAME, LGBTQ+ and widening participation groups, are met by excellent services.

How will we decide which universities meet the Charter’s standards?

At this stage it is critical that we explore a range of models and approaches and make the key decisions in collaboration with the sector and our partners. We are interested in good practice and structuring the programme in a way that supports colleagues to create positive change for students and staff, and are opposed to punitive approaches.

How and when will the Charter be developed?

The Charter will develop in an iterative process, shaped by co-production with students, staff and partner organisations. Given the complexity of developing a significant change programme like this, and the importance of engaging with all of the relevant stakeholders, we will have an extended development phase starting in Autumn 2018.

Following the announcement, a diverse range of institutions will be invited to take part in the Charter development programme. We anticipate that the charter will take a banded approach, setting out basic, advanced and aspirational goals. Training and expert support will be provided to support the change and assessment process. We will take an outcomes-focused approach. The university sector is home to some fantastic charter schemes and we will also look internationally to innovations in mental health.

Who is funding the Charter and what will be the costs involved?

The Charter’s development phase is supported by a £100,000 grant to Student Minds from the UPP Foundation, the registered charity founded by University Partnerships Programme (UPP). Beyond this generous start-up grant, Student Minds will be welcoming additional partners and funders in order to scale the programme.

Like many charities, Student Minds is supported by a range of donations, fundraising and grants, and we generate our own funding through training delivery. For a full list of our funders visit here.

Following a consultation with the sector there may be a small administrative cost to institutions for taking part in the Charter, which will be invested back into the wrap around support and assessment process.

What about the NHS or schools side of this issue?

At Student Minds we understand that this is an issue that expands far beyond universities and that partnership working with schools and colleges, the NHS, graduate employers and others is crucial. Whilst this Charter is focused on university settings, alongside this work, Student Minds’ strategy and our partners programming involves working on national, systems level work to improve NHS provision for students, and projects to bridge transitions between life stages. We will ensure strong connectivity with these other programmes for a long term strategic approach.

I’m a student/ a university staff member, what can I do to get involved?

Working with students and university colleagues will be central in the development of the Charter, with Students’ Unions and Student Minds’ student-led groups playing a core role. Further updates on our exciting plans to tour the UK speaking with students and staff will be provided in Autumn 2018.

Will Student Minds be recruiting any new staff to support this project?

Student Minds will be opening recruitment in the coming months. Sign up to our mailing list to receive updates about recruitment opportunities.